


Oh Thank God You're Okay

by Jumpyrope



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Futaba and Akira are like siblings, I just love this family so much, Morgana is a loud chatty kitty, No Romance, Suicide mention, everyone loves Akira and Akira loves everyone too, love all around, mention of bruises, my heart can't handle these crazy kids, sojiros heart can't handle these crazy kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 21:40:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13912740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jumpyrope/pseuds/Jumpyrope
Summary: In the game, after Akira comes home, Sojiro mentions how he saw the news beforehand he knew what was going on and it nearly gave him a heart attack. I just think that's interesting.





	Oh Thank God You're Okay

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't not do this when I saw that scene where everyone is so happy Akira is alive. I wish Sojiro could've been shown having a bigger reaction though, not just a brief mention. But oh well, that's what fan fiction is for!

"It has just been announced that the leader of the Phantom Thieves has been taken into custody. We are still waiting on-"   
Sojiro drops his cigarette from his mouth as the newsman catches his attention. He spends a moment staring stunned at the tv, the smell of smoke the only thing that draws him out of his stupor. 

"Shit-" he curses under his breath and stamps out the smoke with his shoe. He then looks down at the floor where the ashes and remaining half of the cigarette lay and sighs, then occupies himself with getting a dustpan and small broom to clean it up, hoping that the floor wouldn't have a burn mark on it or anything. He also is sure to keep an ear on the news. The leader of the Phantom Thieves was arrested? His heart sinks as he glances up at the clock. 

"He should be back by now..." Sojiro murmurs, seeing how late it is. Akira could be forgetful sometimes but with the announcement on the news, Sojiro has the feeling that he isn't just staying out a little too late. He sighs with a drawn out groan. "What did he get himself into?" 

...

Sojiro locks up the shop with a frown, glancing around the street just in case he sees his charge's slouching silhouette in the distance. There is nothing. He frowns, clicks the lock shut, and returns home. 

"Futaba, I'm home." Sojiro announces tiredly as he toes his shoes off at the door. He hears a surprised squawk from Futaba's room and the sound of a door shutting. With a small smile, he shakes his head at the floor. _Silly girl,_ he muses, _I must've caught her off guard._

Sojiro sinks down into his usual chair in his room and clicks the tv on, setting it on the news station. While he normally tries to avoid the news while at home, the news about the Phantom Thieves had him concerned. He considers asking Futaba about it, but she had been so busy lately that he doesn't want to bother her. Though, now that he thinks about it, her busyness only adds to his concern. _Does_ she know anything about the arrest of the leader of the Phantom Thieves? With the information the news released, it was beyond doubt that the suspect is Akira. A high schooler charged with assault and made to leave his hometown. Definitely him. Sojiro strokes his chin and furrows his eyebrows in thought, wondering if he should ask her tonight or wait until the morning. His thoughts are cut off as the news suddenly shifts narrative. 

"We have breaking news. The young man being held in custody has committed suicide." 

_What..?_

"The police have confirmed his death, though the details have not yet been released."

 _No, it can't be-!_

"To repeat, the suspect has committed suicide while in custody. This station will continue to report any further updates as they..." 

The sound of the television seems to fade away as Sojiro processes this new information. _Suicide? No, not him..._ Sojiro tries to rationalize. Maybe there was a mistake? But the police confirmed it... 

"No..." he murmurs, shaking his head. "No, that can't be right." Yet, with as much as he wants to doubt it, there is a sinking in Sojiro's chest that fills him with dread. 

To him, this has all happened so suddenly. Akira hadn't been acting any stranger than usual lately, so this must be a surprise. How had he gotten caught? Sojiro balls his hands into tight fists and slams them down onto the arms of his chair. 

"Dammit!" He grits his teeth and glares at the tv as if it were at fault for all of this. He can't help but feel just as useless as he did when Wakaba- 

Wait. Wakaba... 

There is something familiar about this situation and that one with Futaba's mother years ago. He doesn't want to believe it, but it is clear to him that it is very possible that this all happened for a purpose. And if Akira had gotten caught up in it and died because of it, then-! 

"Futaba!" Sojiro stands up quickly, nearly losing his balance at the speed of it. He hurries as fast as he can to her room. If Akira was caught, then Futaba was in danger too. He doesn't hesitate when he gets to her door, immediately grabbing the handle and turning it. Only, it is locked. He hears a squeal from within the room as he bangs on the door and he can't help but feel relieved to at least hear her. "Futaba! Why is this door locked? What is going on?!" 

Sojiro feels bad as he knows how much yelling frightens her, but he can't help himself. He is desperate. He's already lost one family member, so he is going to make damn well sure that he is able to protect Futaba. 

"N-n-n-n-not now, Sojiro!" Futaba's voice surprises the older man. She sounds strangely confident, despite the stuttering. He wants to respect her privacy, but he still needs answers. 

"What is going on?" He repeats, gentler this time. "Are you okay?" 

"I-I'm fine! I just need- I need you to not bother me!" She yells back at him, almost sounding obstinate. This throws him for a loop, and he takes a step back in surprise. 

"Wha-" he starts, but her shouting cuts him off again. 

"Just go!" She orders, and Sojiro recognizes an impassible stubbornness when he sees it. It reminds him of how Wakaba would be when she had her heart set on something. With an ache in his chest, he just hopes he isn't making the same mistake with her daughter and letting the same people take her away too. 

...

It is about an hour or so, maybe, until the doorbell rings. It's hard to tell the passage of time when so stunned. Sojiro sits up from his chair, having been blankly staring at the news repeating the awful information. The bell rings again, and again, becoming more and more frantic and persistent. As quickly as he can, he goes to the door and peeks out before he opens it. He is surprised to see Sae Nijima of all people, and to see her looking so anxious too. He opens the door. 

"Oh thank goodness." She says, breathing out in relief. "Listen, I'm sorry, but I don't have time to explain." She gives Sojiro a looks that says that she truly is sorry, and then turns to the side. "Hey, come on, give me your arm." Her soft voice confuses the man at the door as she assists the person beyond his view. However, that confusion passes when he sees who it is she is supporting. 

Sojiro is speechless. Sae shuffles forward with a beaten and bruised boy leaning on her. The kid looks up and Sojiro feels like he could faint. 

"Hey." Akira greets softly, his voice weak but his manner as if he were trying to act like it was a normal day. Sojiro feels tears in his eyes, but he bites them back. 

"How- how did you-?" He tries to ask Sae, but she just shakes her head and leads the exhausted kid into Sojiro's arms.

"I'm sorry." She says, backing up. "I can't explain now. Just- keep him safe." Sae nods quickly before turning and leaving as quickly as she arrived. 

Sojiro would have stood there for another ten minutes in shock if the boy leaning on him hadn't moved with a pained groan. This brings the man back to his senses and he quickly ushers the kid inside and closes the door. 

"God dammit, what happened to you?" Sojiro shakes his head in disbelief, but Akira merely smirks weakly at him. Then the boy sways on his feet and nearly falls, but luckily Sojiro catches him in time to regain his balance. "Shit. Okay. Come with me, let's get you lied down." He leads Akira towards his own bedroom, figuring that a kid this damaged would fare better in a spacious bed than on a couch. As soon as they get close to the bed, the exhausted teen seems to gravitate towards it and fall into it. It sounds like he mumbles a thanks, but Sojiro can't tell. 

"Oh, come on, you're getting my sheets all dirty with your shoes." He complains, getting Akira to move with some trouble so that he can take the boy's shoes off. 

"Mmwhoops." Akira mumbles, looking entirely unapologetic. Sojiro shakes his head with "disdain." 

"Seriously." He mutters, failing to mask his emotions behind a judgmental look. "How'd you get yourself into this mess." Akira only smiles as smugly as a beaten and drugged teenager can smile. Sojiro wipes the wetness from his eyes and sighs fondly. "What am I gonna do with you." 

"Water would be nice." Akira murmurs with his eyes closed. It's a little hard to understand him as he is very quiet, but Sojiro nods and quickly leaves the room to get a cup and water. He nearly runs into Futaba as she comes at him with worry. 

"Uwaahk-!" She sputters, flailing backwards. Sojiro stops in his tracks and raises his hands in surrender position to avoid freaking her out further. She quickly collects herself, which isn't very collected in the first place anyway, and stares him down even though she has to look up at him. "Who was that at the door!" She asks in a way that sounds nothing like a question. Sojiro glances back to his bedroom where he left Akira on top of his bed and then back to Futaba. 

"That was, uh," he starts, trying to figure out how to explain that the lady that had been trying to take him to court had just shown up and dumped off a very very damaged Akira Kurusu and left. 

"Prosecutor Sae Nijima?" Futaba fills in his hesitation. Sojiro is confused, but at least that solves the problem of how to explain it. He nods. "Where is he then? She brought him, right? Is he okay?" Futaba's rapid fire questions are a little frustrating as Sojiro is trying hard to keep a hold on his own calm, but he nods again, gently. 

"He's resting in my room for now. I'm going to get him a glass of- hey!" Futaba decides that she's heard enough and pushes past him to get down the hallway. "Wait a minute, don't just go barge in on him, he's-" Sojiro stops when he sees Futaba open the door and freeze. 

"O-oh my god..." she says quietly under her breath, clearly shaken by the sight of her friend. Sojiro continues towards her and places a comforting hand on the top of her head. She turns an looks up at him, eyes wide with what could only be thousands of worried questions. 

"He's okay." Sojiro assured her, though honestly he isn't 100% sure that it is true or not. "It's late now so I'm going to let him get some rest. You want to help me bring water to him?" Futaba nods excitedly and Sojiro can't keep the fond smirk off his face. Together, they end up deciding to bring him three cups of water; the second one for if he finishes the first and wants more, and the third for good measure. Futaba also decides to let him use her "second favorite blanket." 

By the time they get everything together, Futaba carrying one glass of water with her blanket in the other arm and Sojiro carrying two glasses, they find Akira stumbling down the hallway to towards the bathroom. He's barely made it out of the bedroom yet, and he's leaning pretty obviously against the wall, but he still nods politely in greeting even though he looks like a deer in the headlights. 

"What the hell are you doing out bed? Are you crazy?" Sojiro scolds him harshly, though the boy doesn't even flinch. 

"-getting the sheets all dirty." Akira mumbles, fiddling with his hair after gesturing to his clothes. Now that he thinks about it, the boy _did_ feel kind of damp. Sojiro shakes his head and points a hand holding a glass of water back down the hall. 

"That doesn't matter, moron! Go sit down." His commands only make Akira frown in disappointment. 

"But my clothes-" he starts whining, but Sojiro cuts him off with another, harsher gesture down the hall that ends up spilling some water over his hand. 

"Don't worry about that, I'll bring you something to change into, just go sit back down before you fall over and break something." Akira frowns further and trudges back down the hall like a kid that just got told they weren't going to Disney World. Sojiro sighs and shakes his head. "Sheesh." Futaba does a terrible job of hiding her amusement as she follows behind Akira to give him her glass and blanket. She sits down next to her friend and goes to put the blanket over his shoulder while he takes a sip of the first glass of water. It's a nice gesture, but he quickly blocks her by holding up a hand. 

"No. Dirty," he says quickly, voice clearer after drinking water. Futaba huffs and rolls her eyes, but pulls the blanket back. 

"Fiiiiine. But you are getting swaddled after you change your clothes, mister!" Futaba commands. Sojiro feels a rush of relief when Akira smirks a little and makes a soft noise of amusement. 

"Swaddled?" He says, raising an eyebrow and taking another sip of water. Futaba nods enthusiastically. 

"Like a baby!" Her enthusiasm only seems to amuse Akira more. He laughs softly, then falls into a fit of coughing. Futaba's smile immediately turns to a look of concern, but Akira waves his hand to dispel the worry. Assured that the two would be okay, Sojiro backs up toward the doorway after leaving the two cups he carried on the night stand. 

"Okay, I'll head over to the cafe and get you some clothes. They're in that box, right?" Sojiro asks and Akira nods silently. "Okay. Is there anything in specific you'd like me to get or does it not matter?" Akira shakes his head, mumbling "doesn't matter" to answer. Sojiro gives a final nod of affirmation and heads back to the cafe. He almost forgets his shoes before he rushes out the door, and realizes that he must be more shaken than he thought. 

After he successfully grabs Akira a bundle of a variety of clothes (he couldn't choose what would be best to bring), Sojiro heads back out of the cafe and locks up behind him again. Then, an insistent meowing catches his attention from behind him. 

"Ah, Morgana," he says, calling the cat by its strange name. Sojiro always wonders what made Akira choose that name out of anything, but whatever. "Are you worried about that guy too?" The cat meows several times, tail flicking back and forth. Taking that as a yes, Sojiro chuckles and starts walking back to his house. "He's doing alright, he'll be staying in my house tonight. Come on, I'm sure he'll be happy to see you." The cat meows loudly again and follows. Sojiro swears the cat really is talking to him. 

When he walks into his bedroom once again, he finds Akira and Futaba still sitting on the bed, but now Akira has the blanket wrapped around his shoulders tightly and the half drank cup is on the night table next to the other two. Sojiro notices the kid's blazer and turtleneck laying on the floor and a fatherly disapproval flares up in him against Akira having taken off his shirt in front of Futaba. It only lasts for a moment though, immediately being replaced with a warmer, fuzzier feeling when he sees Akira's face light up when hearing Morgana's meowing. 

"Look who I found," Sojiro announces as the cat charges up to the boy curled up on the bed and jumps in front of him. The older man can swear that the two start having a conversation. 

"Meow meow!" 

"I'm okay, really." 

"Meow!" 

"I'm not lying." 

"Meow meow meow!" 

"Morgana, I'm fine." 

"Meow. Meow meow meow!" 

"Love you too." 

"Mrrow!" Sojiro could swear the final meow sounded embarrassed. If Futaba's laughter was any indication, he might very well be right. Shaking his head, he walks over and puts the folded clothes down on the bed next to the boy. 

"Here. I didn't know what to get so I got you a bunch of stuff. Hope it's good enough." 

"It's perfect, thank you." Akira smiles honestly and thankfully, though the exhaustion is clear in his eyes. Seeing that, Sojiro claps his hands decisively and shoos Futaba up off the bed and towards the door. 

"Okay, come on. Let's let the kid get some rest now, okay," he says. The cat meows indignantly so Sojiro decides that he can allow it to stay for just tonight. "If you need anything, just yell, I'll be just down the hall okay?" 

"Yell?" Akira asks quietly. Sojiro realizes his blunder. 

"Ah. Right. Hm, how about then... oh." He turns and leaves the room to search around the house. Luckily he finds what he was looking for quickly and returns in no time. He holds his hand out in front of Akira to offer him a small silver bell. "If you need anything, ring this." Akira looks at it in wonder before taking it and setting it on the nigh table next to his waters. It jingles pleasantly as he moves it. 

"Oh yeah!" Futaba exclaims, snapping her fingers. "Mom would do the same thing for me when I was sick and she couldn't watch me 24/7. I would just ring the bell if I needed her so I wouldn't have to use my sore throat!" Sojiro smiles fondly and ruffles her hair. 

"Yeah. That's where I got the idea. Glad I still have it and could find it." He agrees, looking back at the little bell. It is the very same one that Wakaba would give to Futaba, though he isn't sure if Futaba remembers it is exactly. 

"She was so smart..." Futaba mumbles wistfully, looking down. Sojiro is worried for a moment, but then Futaba shakes her head quickly and looks up at Akira. "You get better soon, okay! I want my key item in tip-top shape!" The kid smiles and nods at her. 

"Key item?" Sojiro questions, but Futaba just laughs. 

"Nothing!" She sing-songs. "Now, Sojiro, let's make like a bee and buzz off!" He has to raise an eyebrow at her odd saying, but he agrees nonetheless. 

"Okay. Goodnight, kiddo. And remember, I'm just down the hall." He pulls the door shut halfway so that it isn't wide open but isn't closed either. Akira nods with a smile. 

"Yeah," he says softly. "Thanks," he hesitates, voice lowering even more, "dad." 

Sojiro's eyes water, and Futaba is kind enough to wait until they are down the hallway to tease him for it.

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine Futaba was just getting home from the Phantom Thieves' behind the scenes metaverse shenanigans where they had to deal with cognitive Akechi and such, that's why she freaked out when Sojiro comes home.   
> If you like the fic make sure to kudos the fic and comment the fic. If you want. I really like reading comments tho, just saying!


End file.
